Halloween Party
by pachirisu
Summary: May has ambitious ideas for Halloween, but Steven doesn't see himself fitting in.


"Steven."

"Steven."

"Steven!"

"May!"

The silver haired man turned around to the frustrated younger girl, whom he had been ignoring for the last twenty minutes. Her incessant calling had begun to annoy him, but he was becoming more than talented at tuning her voice out.

"We have to plan for Halloween," she suggested, her eyes filled with excitement.

"No, we do not," he shot back, giving her a disapproving look.

"Aw, come on! We have to do couples costumes! Everyone does it, and I am not missing this opportunity."

"I'm not really one for dressing up, May."

"Steven you are boring and complain too much. Let go for once, and come to Sidney's party with me! It'll be fun, I promise."

"Celery shaped like fingers and weird cocktails of punch doesn't really appeal to me."

"Make it appeal to you. You're gonna spoil the holiday for everyone!" May huffed, pulling slightly on Steven's sleeve.

"What sort of costumes did you have in mind?" Steven asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well," May said, elongating the 'e'. "You know the way I really like Grease?"

"No way."

"Aw, come on! Please? It'll be funny, okay?"

"Leather jackets and hair gel are not my style, unless you hadn't guessed, May."

"I think boring is your style," May mumbled, pouting at him.

"I'll think about it."

"Good enough for me!"

The brunette hopped up, apparently satisfied with the answer she had received. She waved at Steven on her way out of his office, who nodded exhaustedly in return. That girl was tiring to say the least, and he had to put up with her on a daily basis. Her enthusiasm was matched by none though- one of her many qualities. He knew that despite his many protests, he would end up dragged to Sidney's party as Danny Zuko, with May beside him in a hastily put together costume.

* * *

A box came in the mail for him the week leading up to Halloween, with a printed label on the front, making it impossible for him to know who it was from. However, when he opened the box, it was immediately obvious who it was from. The contents consisted of two items he had sworn away from this Halloween- a leather jacket and a tub of hair gel. He lifted the jacket, giving it a full inspection. It looked as if it would fit him perfectly, but that didn't make him any more willing to put it on. Steven lifted his PokéNav from the table, punching in May's number.

"Hello?" Came her voice from the other end, sickly sweet, just as though she had been expecting his call.

"What is the meaning of this box on my doorstep?"

"What box?" She asked, her voice shaking from obviously concealed laughter.

"Don't do this, May. Why have I received a box with a leather jacket and hair gel in it?"

"Arceus must want you to be Danny with me. Nice coincidence, really!"

She hung up after that comment, leaving an angry Steven at the other end of the line. He lifted the jacket once more, glaring at it. It was _nice_ , but he had standards. He wasn't wearing this. Was he? Part of him was tempted to try it on at least, but the other part of him was telling him that that would be letting May win. In the midst of his mental argument with himself, his PokéNav rang again, and he abandoned the jacket on the couch to take the call.

"Wallace," Steven greeted, his face deadpanning at the thought of entertaining his best friend at this time of the morning.

"Morning, sleepy head. I've been calling for two hours," Wallace drawled.

"It's the weekend," Steven pointed out, receiving a mumble of agreement from his teal haired friend.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you. Are you coming to Sidney's do on Friday?"

"I'm thinking about it. I'd rather not, but I don't think I have any choice. May wants to go," he explained.

"Ah, you're whipped. That explains a lot," Wallace stated simply.

"Wh- no! Wallace!" Steven exploded, glaring at his PokéNav. "That's not it!"

"Okay," Wallace said, clearly disbelieving. "What are you going as?"

"I got a not-so-subtle hint from May to do in the form of a leather jacket and hair gel in the mail."

"Ooh, nice. Grease?"

"Spot on," he said, running a hand through his hair; something he did when exasperated.

"Well, I look forward to your rendition of Summer Nights then," Wallace cackled.

"Hey, that isn't-" Steven stopped when he heard the familiar click signifying that Wallace had hung up. Steven mumbled at his PokéNav, flinging it towards the sofa, where it landed with a soft thud.

He lifted the jacket and hair gel, bringing them upstairs and depositing them on his bed. He was still dead set against the idea of doing this, but the jacket was still calling him. He went through a phase as a teenager when he wanted a leather jacket more than anything, when he wanted to look 'edgy' and 'cool'. His father wouldn't let him have though, and he retired those thoughts to the back of head, accepting a life of suits. But now he had one, and technically his father couldn't say anything (he was an _adult_ after all), so he was tempted. He could try it on without any consequences, right?

So he did. He put the jacket on, and looked in the mirror. And damn, he thought, did he look good. The hair gel might've been too much for him, but he could probably please May enough with the jacket and skinny jeans Wallace had forced him to buy a few months ago. He fished out a white t-shirt from his wardrobe, slipping it on under the jacket. He admired himself in the mirror once more, before changing back into his usual suit. It wasn't for every day, that much was clear, but he might be able to make an exception this one. And if it was for May, he would probably do anything. Even if he wouldn't admit it, Wallace was right- he was whipped.

* * *

 _I'm coming to get you at seven, okay? You better be ready! xx_

Steven glared at this text. It was ten to seven, and he was only just dressed. The hair gel lay untouched on his bed, and he cautiously lifted it, giving it a once over. Hair styling was not something he had ever experimented in- he had always accepted that his hair wouldn't lie flat, and moved on. He managed to slick most of hair back, and knew that people would probably know who they were regardless of his hair status. The doorbell rang at that precise moment, and Steven walked downstairs, knowing exactly who would be there.

"Hey," May said, leaning against the doorframe. She was trying to look cool, but ended up overbalancing in her heels and tripped slightly.

"Hey. You look… great!" Steven said, quickly look up and down. She too was wearing a leather jacket, with a black jumpsuit under it and red heels on her feet.

"Yeah, I know. You look… different. I never thought I'd see you dressed like that," she snorted.

"It's not by choice," he mumbled in response, but she dragged him out of the house anyway, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"We have a party to get to."

* * *

Sidney's party was already by the time Steven and May arrived, and they were immediately jumped by the host when they put in an appearance.

"Yo! You guys look amazing!" He called, clearly heavily intoxicated.

"Thanks," May said, pulling Steven towards the buffet.

"You're not gonna just eat all evening, are you?" Steven asked, rolling his eyes. She did this at every party she went to- stayed by the buffet and didn't move. Steven suspected she wasn't particularly good at socializing, but didn't say otherwise.

"No? I'm going to get a plate and carry it round with me. I want to judge everyone's costumes. See how original everyone is. I bet there will be at least three Delcatty."

And she was right. Tate and Liza had pulled it off, but Wattson didn't. He used the excuse of laziness, and May believed him. He didn't look like the sort of person who dressed up, or even enjoyed Halloween, but he was there, probably by force. Wallace put in an appearance later on, in a way too over the top Dracula costume, with Winona hanging around behind him. It took May a while to catch onto what she was doing, but she claimed to be dressed as Supergirl, which May didn't find particularly convincing.

Sidney apparently had 'foreign connections', and thus there were gym leaders from other regions. Candice had come over from Sinnoh, dressed as a Stormtrooper, and was trailing an entirely uninterested Volkner, who was apparently Han Solo, behind her. Entirely uninterested, that was, until he laid eyes on Elesa, who was wearing a very accurate Princess Leia dress. Candice looked proud when they started talking, and skipped away to find other people.

May had managed to perfect the art of 'mingling' that night, even though she mainly stuck around Roxanne and Flannery. She talked to a lot of different people, and described her job to them in as many ways as she could manage. After an hour of solo mingling, though, she noticed that Steven was missing, and went on a hunt to find him.

She spotted him at the buffet, the place he was always trying to drag her away from. He wasn't eating, just leaning against the wall, glaring out at the masses.

"Are you not enjoying yourself?" May asked timidly, wringing her hands.

"I'll be honest and say no," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"We can leave, then. I've talked to everyone I want to, so…" She inclined her head towards the door, and he detached himself from the wall.

"Let's go."

* * *

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For dragging you to the party, and then abandoning you."

"It's fine. I didn't really do anything to stop you."

They fell down onto Steven's couch, turning the TV on. It was already, but as it was Halloween night, there was no shortage of scary films on. May protested to every single one, but Steven put one on anyway.

"You haven't taken the leather jacket off," May pointed out.

"I like it."

"I'm glad that wasn't a waste of my hard earned money, then. You should wear it more often, it suits you."

"I might."

May, with her unusually short attention span, got distracted mid way through the film and spent the rest of the time making food while Steven watched the end. She brought plates of fries through to the living room, seating herself beside Steven once again.

"I don't get what you see in these movies," she commented, handing him his food.

"Says the girl who still watches cartoons," he shot back, slowly eating his fries.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, merely enjoying each other's company and the food. In traditional May fashion, she fell asleep, her head resting on his shoulder. She had been supposed to go home, but there wasn't much Steven could do now- she was out for the count, and wouldn't wake up until morning. He slid out from beside her, leaning her head gently onto the sofa. He threw a blanket over her, kissing her gently on the forehead.

"Goodnight, May. Happy Halloween."

* * *

 _AN: i hate this pairing and i hate grease why did i do this-_

 _for the daiharu contest on tumblr hosted by pokemonsavvy and soaringillusions!_


End file.
